Liberia’s outgoing President George Weah conceded defeat in Tuesday’s presidential election to his opponent Joseph Boakai on Friday evening, November 17, as the country awaits the release of overall voting results.
“Tonight the CDC [le parti de M. Weah] lost the election, but Liberia won. It is time for elegance in defeat,” Mr. Weah, a former soccer star elected in 2017, said in a speech on public radio. “The results announced this evening, while not yet final, indicate that they are [M.] Boakai has a lead that we can’t catch up with. I spoke to President-elect Joseph Boakai to congratulate him on his victory,” Mr Weah said.
The results released by the Electoral Commission on Friday, after counting votes in more than 99% of offices, show 50.89% for Mr Boakai and 49.11% for Mr Weah. Mr Boakai had a lead of just over 28,000 votes after some 1.6 million ballots were counted. About 2.4 million Liberians were called to vote on Tuesday, but so far there has been no evidence of turnout.
Dozens of Mr. Boakai’s supporters celebrated the results by dancing in front of one of his party offices in Monrovia’s Fiama district, an Agence France-Presse correspondent noted.
According to a press release from the US State Department spokesman, Washington welcomed Joseph Boakai’s victory and outgoing President George Weah’s “peaceful acceptance of the results.” “The people of Liberia deserve free, transparent and peaceful elections,” added Matthew Miller.
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A revenge
Mr Boakai will take charge of this English-speaking country of around five million people, one of the poorest in the world, for six years. This tenor of Liberian politics, vice president of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf from 2006 to 2018, a servant of the state for four decades, has finally found his way to head of state at the age of 78. An unfortunate candidate in 2017, when he lost to George Weah in the second round of the presidential election, the Unity Party leader has long been preparing his revenge.
Whenever the opportunity presents itself, he seizes on his opponent’s mixed record and proposes a national “rescue plan.” He promises to improve infrastructure, invest in agriculture, attract investors, open Liberia to tourism and restore the country’s image.
“His motivation is to rescue Liberia from the state it has been in since George Weah came to power,” Mohammed Ali, spokesman for his party, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). He jumbles up “the influx of illegal drugs, the rise in poverty rates, poor governance, the collapse of the health and education systems.”
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His speech carries. While he largely lost six years ago, getting 28.76% in the first round and 38.46% in the second, he followed the outgoing president in the first round, both receiving around 43% of the vote, before defeating her in the next round round.
Smart alliances
Mr. Boakai promised an inclusive government that reflects Liberia’s political, ethnic, regional, religious and gender diversity. Some candidates like Tiawan Gongloe supported him for the second round.
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From the first round, he knew how to maneuver deftly to forge alliances with local barons, such as former warlord Prince Johnson, who supported George Weah in 2017 and who still enjoys strong support in his Nimba province. Mr. Johnson, who was caught on video drinking beer while his men tortured President Samuel Doe to death in 1990 and was subject to U.S. sanctions over corruption, named one of his men, Jeremiah Koung, as Mr. Boakai’s vice president. In Nimba, a populated region in the northeast, the candidate largely won in the first round.
Joseph Boakai, like George Weah, comes from the “indigenous” population and not from the “America-Liberian” elite, descended from freed slaves who long ruled the country. He describes himself as an ordinary man who rose from a humble situation through merit and work. Originally from a remote village in Lofa Province on the border with Guinea and Sierra Leone, he was often referred to as the country’s “breadbasket.” He was Secretary of Agriculture under Samuel Doe from 1983 to 1985.
His opponents consider his advanced age a handicap and say he is out of touch with younger generations in a country where 60% of the population is under 25. They call him “Sleepy Joe,” a nickname also given to opponents of U.S. President Joe Biden, and argue that it is time for him to rest.
During the campaign, his supporters repeatedly emphasized his consistent integrity and claimed that he was the only one who knew how to restore trust in institutions and fight corruption.